Unrequited Love
by IvyAddams
Summary: Picks up from the end of Season 3. When Marian is brought back to the present-day town of Storybrooke, the lives of Regina and Emma will change forever. Will they realize the true feelings they possess? Or will the pressure of their small-town world see to it that the witches never find true love? A Swan Queen story requested by two devout OUAT fans. As always, R&R.


If the night was cold and black, it did not compare to the heart of Regina Mills.

A starry sky shivered in the chilly evening. Cool wind swept through the modest houses, growing trees, and cleanly paved streets. The bright businesses typically bustling with commotion were all but silent in this late hour. Nearly every resident of the quiet town of Storybrooke was in their home, their minds unwinding from such an eventful day, an unsettling calmness gripping their hearts. However, there were two women who could not oppose these feelings more if they tried. Their exploding emotions were bundled up in thick coats and scarves, which began to feel warm as they stood in the heated entrance hallway of the mayor's mansion.

"Stop this, Emma, just leave me alone!" Regina said, her voice cracking at the end of her yelled command.

"I know what you're thinking, Regina," Emma interjected quietly, her brown eyes solemnly studying the rain-covered pirate boots on her feet, "And it's not the case."

Regina raised an eyebrow of surprise at the air of smallness Emma seemed to exemplify. "Really?" she asked sarcastically, "I'm wrong thinking that you intentionally saved Marian because you're jealous of me and Robin?" Regina bitterly asked, tears slipping down from her eyes at the end of her question, a pained smile of sickened insight sliding across her face. The blonde witch had as good as destroyed her happiness that night, and Regina was not willing to move on from this tragic truth just because Emma was sorry.

Emma looked angrily back at her, deep brown eyes fixed intently on the woman she could not understand. "That wasn't the only reason. You had subjected her to a fate that I couldn't just sit by and watch," she added matter-of-factly.

Regina looked rather taken aback. Laughing slightly, she turned away from Emma and walked towards the staircase, calling out, "Well, I guess it's clear no matter what you or anyone else in this ridiculous town tells me, I'm still the bad guy. So go ahead! Call me evil, call me terrible, destroy me in front of my son, take away the only man who could have made me happy, beat me down again and again and again . . ."

A fierce grip on her arm made Regina pause her rant and spin around to face Emma, who was standing next to her again, her flawless face soft and longing, her anger all but forgotten. Regina's dark eyes flickered to the cold grip on her forearm and Emma suddenly released her, pulling back slightly, her gaze falling to the tiled floor. Regina stared at her for some time, trying to understand what the young, blonde woman who had both saved and destroyed her life wanted. Her golden hair fell awkwardly in front of her face, a red leather jacked framing her shoulders squarely, brown eyes twinkling like the stars in the sky, her black boots complementary of a certain Captain she had been distracting herself with that night.

The two women were able pull off their feelings as friendship for the skeptical, gossiping eyes of the townspeople, but even since the evening when Emma came to Storybrooke and they first met, Regina's attraction to her had been undeniable. The women had ignored their desires for so long, giving them no label, choosing to regard each other as purely individuals, while their passionate feelings continued to fervently flow, unseen through the years. Regina knew very plainly why Emma had pushed off Hook for as long as she had as well as why Emma's interest in him had suddenly peaked. Logically, it would make a great deal of sense that Regina's own personal desperation for true love had ignited when Robin entered her life, seeming to have gotten no where with Emma. One thing was clear to them both, however—the two women were reluctant to confront the truth.

"I don't mean to be rude," Regina remarked finally, breaking the bizarre silence which had formed between them, "But if you're just going to stand there, I'm leaving."

She waited, looking for a reaction from Emma, who gave nothing more than a nervous blink of her lashes, before turning away and ascending the grand staircase of her home.

"Regina, wait," a timid voice said at the bottom of the steps. The brunette witch, who noticed the dried tears on her cheeks just then, turned back around and looked down to see the blonde woman bouncing nervously in her boots.

She saw the apparent struggle Emma embodied as the young woman clenched her fists and stuttered, "I'm . . . I . . ."

Regina scoffed at the sputtering blonde. "You can come back tomorrow once you've found the words," she said, scowling angrily to herself and turning back to mount the stairs.

"I was jealous, okay? I was!" Emma finally screamed. Regina stopped, her heels frozen on the carpeted steps, choosing not to turn around and witness the unraveling witch but rather stare straight at the black heels on her feet.

She continued ranting, "I was mad and lonely and . . . and everything was falling into place for you and . . . nothing was working out for me. And it's so hard to watch, Regina, it's so hard to watch the bad guy get the good ending," she muttered. "And I know that's selfish and cruel, but lately, I haven't felt like much of a Savior, and I'm starting to miss . . ."

Regina remained silent and still, waiting for the speech to conclude before she decided how to feel about this confused woman. She knew Emma was simply masking the real mess which truly made her mad using fake stories about a need for attention. What Emma wanted was something—or some_one_—different.

Sighing with annoyance, Regina turned around and looked down at Emma again. "Miss Swan—"

"Queen Regina, I'm starting to miss _you,_" Emma confessed painfully, releasing a struggle which had held her voice hostage for the past few weeks. Her words easily flowed out now as she admitted, "I miss the excuses we had for fighting with each other and the drama that made us famous in this ridiculous town, and the moments you taught me to embrace my magic, and the wasted hours we spent glaring at each other, and Regina, we both know I was never actually looking at you out of resentment about whatever dilemma we were faced with."

A tired laugh escaped Regina's lips. "It sounds as if you have me all figured out," she said, her hands dropping to her sides in surrender.

Emma suddenly bounded up the few steps in between them and stood only feet from Regina. "Do I?" she asked quietly.

Regina again studied the brown eyes that begged for affection. She honestly wasn't so sure herself the exact feelings she possessed for Emma. Regina did, however, feel completely secure in the fact that they weren't as desperate as Emma's.

"Not entirely," Regina said after a moment. Emma's face grew slightly confused, and Regina smiled lightly, continuing, "Emma, unlike your Gillian, Robin is not—" she paused, biting her tongue and suppressing tears, "_Was_ not a distraction for me. I truly care for him, and I am not in a place to throw aside all of those feelings yet. There are still things I need to discuss with him."

Emma's eyes feel to the steps, her head bowed in rejection. "I see," she murmured quietly.

The two witches stood there for several moments more, silent and tense, before Emma walked back down the stairs and Regina finally finished her ascent to the second floor, her heels clicking quietly along the wood floor as she made her way to her bedroom.

Hearing the echo of the front door slamming shut, Regina breathed a deep sigh of relief in knowing that Emma was gone. The poor girl was terribly mislead. Taking out silver diamonds in her ears and removing the heavy clothes she wore during the day, Regina's thoughts lingered dutifully on the notion Emma presented. Was that really how Emma had felt all this time? Even Regina had to admit that her scene that evening with Hook in front of Granny's diner had seemed fairly passionate, and even made Regina thankful to have a man in her life she could share such feelings with. But even the mention of Robin's name stung her near-black heart and made her eyes water, and the brunette woman viscously tore at her tear-stained flesh as she collapsed in the chair by her bedroom window, overcome with emotion.

She stared out at the twinkling stars, trying to regain her focus on Emma. Emma, whose child-like qualities had always struck Regina with an oddly fascinating immaturity. Emma, whose purity and goodness resonated even with the name fate had designated to her, the Savior_. _Emma, whose blonde hair bounced along as she bounded down the silly streets of Storybrooke importantly, flashing her Sheriff badge and branding her gun like a toy. Emma, whose devotion to her family and to Henry was unquestionable. Emma, whose bravery was mightier than the force of dark magic. Emma, who even brought Rumple to his knees. Like the star Regina's eyes were stuck on, Emma shone brighter than any other person in their town. But she also lacked an individualized perception that Regina felt could not be earned through success and bravery. Emma was, quite frankly, bland_._ Sure, she sported unique clothes and looked nothing like her aggravating mother, but her attention-seeking urges were growing tiresome, and the way she spoke, as if someone important was always watching, got on Regina's last nerve.

If Emma did in fact want her, Regina decided that the young witch would have to prove it by growing up from the silly teen mom character she so loved to portray. Tucking strands of dark hair behind her ear and pulling the thick curtains on the window closed, Regina collapsed, still dressed, on her bed. As her body released its tension, she let her mind rest along with it, and in doing so, detected momentarily from a great turmoil of love and regret.


End file.
